Mary is Our Queen

The feast of the Queenship of Mary was established in 1954 by Pope Pius XII. The original date for this feast was chosen as May 31st, but was later moved to the octave day of the feast of the Assumption, August 22nd. This memorial celebrates the same event that is highlighted by the fifth glorious mystery or the Rosary.

Once Mary was assumed into Heaven, body and soul, our Church’s tradition (the wisdom of holy men and women passed down through the centuries by the power of the Holy Spirit) tells us that Mary was then made the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

“Mary is the Queen of Heaven and earth by grace, as Jesus is the King of them by nature and by conquest.” St. Louis de Montfort

    Mary is Queen because that is a gift that Jesus gave her because of her being “full of grace”.  Jesus is king because he paid the price, he won the right to be King; as God, he is King by his nature.

Revelation 12:1 says, “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman* clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”.  This is referring to Mary!  Right before this, at the end of chapter 11, John talks about how he saw  the Arc of the Covenant coming from the Temple, then he sees this image of Mary. There is no more talk of the Arc of the covenant, because MARY IS THE ARC OF THE NEW COVENANT.

Mary’s role as queen of heaven and earth is foreshadowed in the Old Testament  tradition of Davidic kings making their mother queen.  The queen is then appointed principal advocate for the people to her kingly son, interceding for their needs. 1 Kings 2:19”Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king stood up to meet her and paid her homage. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king’s mother, who sat at his right. She said, “There is one small favor I would ask of you. Do not refuse me.” The king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”  King Solomon made his mother queen, and her main role was to present the people’s intentions to the king. This foreshadows, or looks forward to, who Mary was going to be in salvation history.

As Queen and Mother of Jesus the King, Mary is our advocate, the advocate of ALL people who has her intercession. ”Advocate” means to speak on behalf of another.  That is what Mary does for us as queen, to speak as our most powerful intercessor to Son.

Kings and queens are mostly concerned with temporal affairs and the state of their kingdom; Mary as Queen is most concerned with the state of our heart and soul and the state of the Kingdom of God here on earth, the Church.  

Earlier, I said that Mary is queen by way of her grace.  Last week I told you how Mary is “full of grace”; how she possesses the perfection of grace in her soul due to her Immaculate conception.  

Part of Mary’s role as Advocate-Queen is to dispense grace.  All grace comes THROUGH Mary.  She has the ability to give grace to us; an ability given to her by the authority of her son from the beginning of her life.  Mary asks her son for the grace we need, then she gives us the grace.  2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." How true is this for Mary’s life! In the world’s eyes, she was “weak”, a young, 14 year old non married virgin.  Yet God’s grace was enough for her to become the Mother of God. Mary knows God’s grace; Mary knows God’s help in an intimate way.  She knows how SWEET His grace is.

It’s like she can say to us, “See, I know how much you need this grace I am giving you.  This is the grace that helped ME along my earthly journey as I was often afraid, weak, suffering, alone.  It is by this grace that I was able to stand amidst the storms of this life with my faith unwavering.  Here is the grace you need from God to do the same…” The distinction is that she is not the source of grace, she is the giver of grace.  Everything that she does for us is according to God’s will - that is what her whole earthly life was about, it is what her heavenly life is about.  

We have journeyed with Mary know from the beginning of her son’s life.  We’ve pondered with her what God was doing in her life.  He began something great in her that minute she was “conceived without sin”.  And as the Angel appeared to her announcing that she would bear a son, Mary begin to experience for herself God’s grace alive in her life.  She pondered.  Mary “kept all these things pondering them in her heart.” (Lk 2.19).  Could she ever had known that she would be made the queen?!  

We know Mary suffered an intense, spiritual and emotional martyrdom when her son was killed.  We wondered if Mary wrestled with questions like, “Will this end?  Can I make it through this?”  But, yes, she did.  She offered her son for the sake of our salvation; she persevered.  And now she is given the crown of Queenship.

Mary was the perfect follower Christ.  At all these moments of her life, she was always in union with what her Son wanted; she always said yes to God’s will.  She served Christ with the most pure, humble heart.  She followed Him every step of his life, taking on his mission as her own.  She lived a constant mental life of prayer. She knew the Jewish scriptures intimately.  Mary was the perfect disciple.  

2 Timothy 4:8 says “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” And again, James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” Do these remind you of Mary?  Yes, Mary was given the “crown of life, the crown of righteousness” as a gift from Her Son for her steadfast faith.

Just as in her Assumption, we can find hope for our own resurrection, where we will be alive, body and soul, with Jesus face to face, so, by her Coronation, we can look forward to the day when the Father will crown US with the crown of sainthood.

Mary wishes to be queen of our hearts - that is where she desires to reign!  Why?  Because she wants to make us like herself, she wants to “grace us” with all that we need to “win the race” of this life, to reach heaven.  Mary wants to say to us “when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:4) because she has cultivated in our souls her virtues and perseverance in faith.  Mary will help insure that we get to heaven so that we may receive the inheritance that has been prepared for us; for we are the royal sons and daughters by way of our baptism, and this earth is not our final home!

How can we make Mary the queen of our heart?  We make sure that we are truly devoted to her; not just devoted to her on the outside, and forget about her on the inside of our souls.  We can commit ourselves to studying more about her. For me, personally, learning more about her has led me to have the desire to give more of myself to her.  And it is a journey!

We can also formally Consecrate ourselves to Mary.  We can pray the Rosary - this is a fantastic place to start to show true devotion to Mary!

When we receive the Eucharist, we can ask Mary to be present in our heart so that the King and Queen can reign together in our hearts.

One of the greatest Marian saints is St. Louis de Montfort, and he paved the way for what we know about being devoted to Mary, about being a child of Mary.  He says:

“True devotion to Our Lady is holy; that is to say, it leads the soul to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, particularly her Profound humility, Lively faith, Blind obedience, Continual prayer, Universal mortification, Divine purity, Ardent charity, Heroic patience, Angelic sweetness, and Divine wisdom. Devotion to Our Lady confirms the soul in good and does not let it easily abandon its spiritual exercises...One devoted to Our Lady does not love Mary just because of the favors she obtains for him, or because she is worthy of love.  It is on this account that he loves and serves her as faithfully in his disgusts and dryness as in his sweetness and sensible favors.  He loves her as much on Calvary as at the marriage of Cana.”

“One who is devoted to Mary will “esteem her and honor her above all the other saints, as the masterpiece of grace...meditate on her virtues...contemplate her gradeurs...make acts of love, of praise, of gratitude to her...to invoke her cordially...to offer ourselves to her and unite ourselves to her...to do all our actions with the view of pleasing her...to begin to continue to finish all our actions by her, in her, with her and for her in order that we may do them to Jesus, in Jesus, with Jesus and for Jesus, who is our last end.” St. Louis de Montfort

I will leave you with one final meditation from a Catholic Mom “blogger”, Sarah Reinhard: “Time and three babies have softened me and continue to work on me. So does my relationship with Mary. I’m glad for this, and it’s made me realize that yes, people can—and do—change. Thank God!

Now, mind you, I don’t hear Mary talking to me any more than I hear God in anything other than a thought that comes out of nowhere. The voices in my head are, sadly, all me. But over the years that I’ve been Catholic, I have been drawn, over and over, to Mary. I’ve read about her and have prayed quite a few Rosaries.

“As I feel myself growing closer to her, I find that Mary’s coronation makes more sense. Jesus loved his mom so much that he gave her a crown. In my house of princesses and sparkly accessories, this is almost intuitive. A crown is almost a permanent bouquet to some people, though I think Mary likes her flowers fresh as much as the next mom.

My children do many things to show their love for me, and bringing me treasures is one of the most popular. These treasures might be drawings, favorite toys, or freshly picked dandelions. As I smile at them and enjoy their delight in sharing with me, I have an image of Jesus presenting his mother with a glorious crown, and I can imagine her pleasure. I think she accepts our little offerings with equal delight: we each bring her what we can with where we are in life. Her job is to help us grow closer to her son, who can equip us to give her even greater honor.”

Do you desire to grow closer to Jesus, but find yourself struggling in this journey of life?  Do you desire holiness, growing in virtue, so you may better serve Christ?  Do you want ALL that Christ has planned for your life?  TURN TO MARY.  As our Queen, she will help us get to Him.  She will help us run the race of becoming who we were meant to be.  She will help us find the freedom and peace that comes from following her Son.  

The Month of May is dedicated to Mary, and there is the tradition of the Crowning of Mary.  Let US crown Mary as the Queen of our hearts; let us give her permission to be the mother of us!!

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...We rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” Romans 5:1-5

I believe this Scripture verse sums up what we experienced during Lent, following the Sorrowful Mother through the events of her Son’s life.  I hope that you held Mary in your heart during the events of Holy Week, wondering what she was experiencing it through it all.  I myself was left wondering what she was experiencing after His burial.  When she finally sat down to digest everything that had happened.  Had she experienced any hope?

Her hope was made complete, her joy was complete when she encountered Her Risen Son.  He had come back!  He came back for her; He came back for us all!

We know that Mary is referred to as “The Mother of God.”  She IS the Mother of God, for we know that Jesus is God, and she is the mother of Jesus, so she is the mother of God Himself.  

We have dwelled on the beautiful union that this mother and son experienced.  Those of us who are mothers understand the deep bond that a mother and child experience.  But Mary’s child wasn’t just ANY child; her child was the Son of God, the Incarnation of God, God made flesh.  So their union isn’t like just ANY mother/child union.  It is a very deep, supernatural union, that words cannot even come close to explaining.  

St. Paul tells us in the Letter to the Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Christ’s work of Salvation, the work that he performed through the events of Holy Week, was all a free gift bestowed to the whole human race.  Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve and the possibility of heaven had been closed to humans.  Sin brought death; so Christ comes to give us the GIFT of himself so to conquer sin and death, making it possible for us to be united back to the Father.  

If Christ wants to bestow gifts upon us, how much more does he wish to bestow gifts on His Most Blessed Mother?  That is the nature of being a son - to honor your parents and gift them with your love and affection.  

Like I said, this union between Christ and Mary is similar, but also very different from the average mother/son union.  Christ, being God, dwelling in existence in the Trinity before He became flesh, had the unique ability to CHOOSE his Mother; to choose the woman who would bear Him to the world.  

You see, the Son existed before His mother and he was able to choose the mother that would be best for him.  Further, he was able to bestow on this woman all the gifts he would wish as well; there is no limit to God’s giving power.  

One of the gifts that Christ gave to his Mother was at her conception: it is known as the Immaculate Conception.  Many people think this refers to Christ’s conception in the Virginal womb of Mary; but indeed it refers to MARY who was conceived naturally by her parents, Anne and Joachim.  Christ chose to give his gift of salvation to His mother at the moment of her conception - she was “conceived without sin”.  When her soul was created, Christ, in union with His Heavenly Father, kept her free from Original Sin (the sin that we inherit from Adam and Eve; all humans are born with this sin on our soul).  

This teaching of the Church, that Mary was conceived without sin, also applies to her whole life.  She was sin-less.  In the gospel account of the Angel appearing to Mary and announcing that she would conceive a son , the Angel first greets Mary as “full of grace.”  “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28).  These words refer to an abundance of grace that is apart of Mary’s very nature.  A theologian and professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Mark Miravalle, says, “It is true that no person with a fallen nature could possess a fullness of grace, a perfection of grace appropriate only for the woman who was to give God the son an identical, immaculate human nature” (emphasis added).  

With the Original sin by Adam and Eve, our human nature tends toward sin. That first sin also lost grace, which was then won for us on the Cross by Jesus.  He opened up the floodgates of grace, which is help from God to be like Him.  Sin and grace do not exist with each other; when we sin, we lose grace.  St. Paul says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue to sin that grace may abound? By no means!...For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:1-2, 14).  So if Mary is full of grace, then there is no room in her soul for sin.  This points to, really, the great mercy of God!  In her Magnificat, Mary’s says, “My soul rejoices in God my Savior”.  “To save men from their sins is a great mercy, but to save one woman from ever sinning is an even greater mercy.  Not only that, sinless as she was...she was still a member of a fallen race, a race to which heaven was closed.  The Savior’ redeeming act opened heaven up for her as well.” (F.J. Sheed).  

All of this is background for the Assumption.  Have you ever wondered what happened to Mary at the end of her life.  Did she die?  Was she buried somewhere?  Why don’t we know about HER tomb, like most of the tombs or places of death of many saints and martyrs?

Along with the teaching of the Immaculate Conception, that declares that Mary was conceived without sin and lived a sinless life, the Church declares that she was “assumed into heaven.”  

“The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” Pope Pius XII in an Infallible Statement, making this teaching a Dogma.  

Let’s go back to what St. Paul said, “The wages of sin is death…”  If Mary’s soul was not touched by sin, then it makes sense that her earthly body would not suffer the same consequences: death and corruption of the body.  Yet, another gift given to her from her Son - that her body would not suffer the corruption and pain of death.  We don’t know the details about HOW the assumption actually happened, but we DO know that Mary is in heaven - BODY AND SOUL.  


One of the scripture accounts that is used to back up this teaching is Genesis 3:15.  Actually, much about what we understand about Mary comes from this account! It says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."  Adam and Eve have just committed the first sin and God is pronouncing judgment and punishment upon them.  But then he turns to the Serpent, who we know is Satan, and declared that there will be a woman who will basically be his enemy (that is what "enmity" implies) and that her "seed" aka "offspring" will also have victory over the Serpent.  This "woman and her seed" is Mary and Jesus.

Again, here is Dr. Miravalle’s wisdom on Mary’s Assumption (he is a Marian theologian, so he devotes his life’s work to studying all things related to Mary): “Genesis 3:15 foreshadows (looks forward toward) Mary as intimately sharing in the same absolute victory of her Son over Satan: ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed’...The consequences of Satan’s seed, evil, are twofold: sin and death (which specifically refers to bodily corruption).  Therefore the Mother of Jesus, who shared in her Son’s victory over Satan and his seed, would also have to be saved from the two consequences of sin and death (bodily corruption).  She did triumph over sin in her Immaculate Conception, and triumphed over death in her glorious Assumption at the end of her earthly life.”  

Let’s again go back to this union between Christ and Mary.  We know that Christ loved Mary so deeply, that even during his greatest agony, he turned to console his mother at the foot of the cross by giving her to St. John.  Along those lines, once Christ Resurrected and Ascended to the Father to take his place at His Right Hand, do you think Christ would want His mother with him?  And not just her soul, but her WHOLE SELF, body and soul united?  Yes, this is what Christ wanted, to have his most beautiful mother next to Him in heaven.

”For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the Love of Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38).  Jesus willed that SIN COULD NOT separate him from the love he had for his own mother.  And the GOOD NEWS is that he also wills that sin would not keep Him from US.  That one day we will also be united with Christ, body and soul.

Now Mary is in heaven, alive, fully alive, to love her Son and to continue to give her Son to those of us on earth.  Jesus and Mary do not exist in order to keep each other for themselves.  They are not selfish.  Yes, Christ wants Mary to be with Him in heaven, but he wills this so that Mary would continue to be united with Him in His work of salvation.  Their mission is the same: to win souls over for the Father.  

The fact that Mary is alive in heaven, body and soul, means that she has all the faculties, all the tools she needs to keep fighting for us in prayer before the Throne of God.  Mary is our ADVOCATE.  She is standing before the King of Kings, right now, at this very moment, waiting for us to ask for her help.  She is waiting for us, physically waiting for us, to give her our hearts so that she can take our hands and lead us to her most adorable son, Jesus.  

Is it possible to attain Salvation and union with Christ without Mary?  Yes, it is possible.  But it is quicker, it is much more enjoyable to do so with Mary by our side.  Christ wanted his mother close to him throughout his entire life, including his life now in heaven.  If we seek to be like Christ, we should seek the same thing - to remember Our Mother at all moments of our life.  She is the most sweetest, most loving, most caring, most gentle of all mothers.  It wasn’t until college, when I really began to have a personal relationship with Mary and to begin to learn these great things about her.  It has caused me to have so much AWE AND WONDER at the work of God.  His plan for Mary’s role in our salvation is so detailed, so intricate.  

Any “season” of my life that I devote myself to Mary is ALWAYS blessed; it is always a time where I experience great intimacy with Christ.  I find so much solace and consolation in knowing that Mary’s maternal heart understands MY maternal and feminine heart.  There are so many times, in the midst of suffering and heartache, that I cry out to Our Lady to be with me and to mother me. I am in need of so much healing from God.  I often envision myself with Mary.  She is seated upon a throne, and we are in a dark, quiet, cozy room.  I approach her and put my head on her lap and she strokes my hair.  She is my mother.  

Some of us here have maybe felt abandoned by loved ones; I myself have felt abandoned by people in my life at various times in my life.   Jesus and Mary, though, do not abandon us.  They are BOTH alive, both are readily available to us.  Neither of them is affected by sin, so we know FOR CERTAIN that they will not let us down, THEY WILL NOT BREAK OUR TRUST.  

The 6th and 7th Sorrow of Mary

The 6th sorrow of Mary is Jesus is pierced with the lance and taken down from the Cross. John 19:31-38 says, ”When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.  An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he know that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may (come to) believe. For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: "Not a bone of it will be broken." And again another passage says: "They will look upon him whom they have pierced." After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body.”

Scientists, historians, anthropologists and theologians have studied the phenomena of blood and water flowing from Christ’s side and they have discovered, that because of the nature of the crucifixion, this IS possible, so it is very probable that this really did happen.  

 

The Church sees the blood and water flowing from Christ’s side as a symbol of Baptism and the Eucharist.  These two sacraments initiate us into the Christian life and it is fitting that it is in these two sacraments we receive the Salvation which Christ won for us on that Cross, the Salvation that Mary also actively participated in. In Baptism, we are plunged under the water so that we may “die with Christ” in order that we may also rise with Him.  This image of Christ being pierced should also conjur up for us the image of Divine Mercy.  From Christ’s death comes so much mercy.

 

At the Last Supper, scripture says, ”Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed, and broke it, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them saying, “Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; for this is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” If we rewind back to the Jewish customs and traditions,any time the Jewish community was guilty of sin, there was a ritual that the Jewish priests had to perform in order to attain forgiveness of sins.  This is all laid out in Leviticus chapter 4.  The priest must take a bull, sacrifice it, sprinkle its blood on the altar, then “pour out” the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar. Leviticus 4:18 “...and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.”  Then, forgiveness of sins was attained.  

I wanted to make this point that CHRIST’S blood (and water) is being “poured out” here at the Cross, for the forgiveness of OUR sins!  Christ is the paschal lamb who sacrifices himself in order to win our salvation and forgiveness of sins.  And Mary was there, witnessing this all.

We have wondered, Mary, did you know?  Did she know that it would be HER Son’s own blood and water that would mark every Christian throughout the centuries?  The lance “poured out” the precious blood and tears of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Was Mary herself the lance, going straight into Christ’s heart, offering salvation for the whole world? Was this lance the physical blow, the physical representation of what her heart had been going through the past 24 hours?  The blow was to Jesus’ body, but it was felt by Mary.  

 

And if we think about it, really, this act of the soldier piercing the heart of Christ to issue forth blood and water, can we see ourselves here?  It is our infirmities which break His heart, and it is His most precious heart that we seek to be in union with.  Oh Lord, that WE would be the lance, rushing straight to the Sacred Heart to receive His love and mercy, to be bathed and covered with His Most Precious Blood, to wash away our sins! And in uniting ourselves with the Sacred Heart, we must remember Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart as well.

 

Then, Jesus is brought down from the Cross. He is handed to Mary.  She is finally able to hold him, to caress him, to console him, to speak to  Him.  We have imagined the suffering and separation she must have felt while watching her Son’s Passion and Death; we have ached with her as she so desperately wished she could end all the suffering or at least to console him.  

 

If Mary held back any display of her emotions up to this point in hopes to be that support and consolation for her son, then I can only imagine the scene of her holding her dead Son.  A quiet, but deep cry.  A sob.  In that moment, as the mockery, the violence was over, did Mary sense the mockery her Son would CONTINUE to endure throughout the upcoming centuries?  He would continue to be cursed, ignored, spat upon, stomped on, blatantly despised and rejected.  She wept for her son.

 

As Jesus, laying on the Cross, cried out, “My god, My god, why have you forsaken me?”, I wonder if this moment, when Mary finally gets to hold her son’s lifeless body, if she felt that same distance from the Father.  If she felt the darkness and ugliness of sin in her own body now, as she holds the heavy, blood soaked body of her son.  She continues to weep.

 

And she wept for us.  WE are the ones who ignore Jesus, who forget him.  Our sins pierce His most innocent, pure, loving heart.  In this moment, she is holding the death, the bloody physical death which sin causes, and she weeps for us.  She knows that we will not stop to see her Son.  We will not care.  We will be broken apart from her son; WE WILL BE LOST. And she weeps.  

 

Lamentations 1:12 says, “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?  Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted…”

 

Again, does Mary remember some of Jesus’ last words, “I thirst”? She knows.  He thirsts for love; He thirsts for OUR LOVE.  He thirsts to be united with His children.  Does she vow to “quench” His thirst?  To bring His beloved children back to the Father?  Does she vow to work aimlessly to bring souls to Him? Her son’s death will not be in vain.  She will quench His thirst.  

 

Let’s go back to the Gospel of John: “Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.”

 

Now it is time to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.  It is time to wrap his body with white linen, and with spices and oils.  I wonder, where is Mary?  Is she watching, is she helping?  Is she reminded of the white linen which she “swaddled” her pure innocent newborn son with?  Does she recall the gifts the wise men brought to Him as she smells the fragrance of myrrh?  

 

I myself have never had to bury my own son.  But I saw my Grandmother do so.  My uncle passed away in his early 40s, my grandmother in her early 70s.  My Grandma is a very faithful Catholic woman.  She is a rock; THE ROCK of our family.  I remember, whether I thought it, or my Grandma spoke it, or my mom told me that Grandma said it, but I know that my Grandmother wished SHE did not outlive her own son.  What parent wants to do that?  And, as an adult, I now know, that along with burying her own son, she suffered the torment of not having buried him as she saw fit.  He was born and raised Catholic and she wished that he would have a Catholic funeral Mass and burial.  But it did not happen.  Her son’s death pierced her heart, and the sword was dug deeper when his burial was not according to her customs and beliefs.

 

I imagine that is somewhat similar to what Mary is experiencing here.  This burial was rushed and hushed because of the Pharisees.  It was technically now the Sabbath, and according to Jewish laws, NOTHING could happen on the Sabbath, no work, no miracles performed, no burials.  Even in His burial, Jesus was sought after.  Mary knew this.  Her broken heart did not have much time to say good bye to Jesus.  Did she know?  Did she know she would see him again?  

 

As Mary and the others buried Jesus, did Mary continue to feel sorrow for the many times that we would bury Jesus in our own hearts?  When we would rush through Mass?  When we would keep Jesus a secret?  

 

As the stone was rolled away, did she turn to the others, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, to comfort them?  Does she turn to us, as we mourn our own sins, our own wretchedness, to comfort us?  Yes, I believe so.  I believe Mary, in her sorrow, gives us her attention.  She comforts us as we realize our need for Salvation; as we lose hope sometimes in the face of death, she comforts us.  

 

Jesus’ tomb was in a garden, the gospel of John tells us.  It all started in a garden, it is finishing in a garden.  Jesus, who took on sin, is dead, laying in a garden.  Mary remembers his words, “Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it cannot produce new life”.  “In the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had been laid”.  No one has died a death like Jesus’.  No one has taken on sin and punishment and the wrath of God itself in order to purchase salvation.  

Did Mary know that he would rise on the third day?  We know she “pondered” everything in her heart.  Jesus had hinted about His Resurrection many times in his public ministry.  She knew that he spoke about destroying the temple and rebuilding it in 3 days; this story that he told upset the Pharisees very much.  She knew he would rise, but in this moment, after burying her Son?  She didn’t think about it.  Her heart was still sorrowful.  I can only imagine that when the crying stopped, she was just empty.  She was an empty, pure vessel.  Empty of her own will; empty of self love.  Empty without Jesus.  Only to be filled up again, her “cup overflowing” on the 3rd day.

 

 

The 1st Sorrow of Mary: The Prophecy of Simeon

St. Albert the Great said, “that as we are under great obligations to Jesus for His Passion endured for our love, so also are we under great obligations to Mary for the martyrdom which She voluntarily suffered for our salvation in the death of Her Son.” He said “voluntarily (suffered), since, as St. Agnes revealed to St. Bridget, ‘our compassionate and benign Mother was satisfied rather to endure any torment than that our souls should not be redeemed.’”

“The martyrs endured their torments in their bodies; Mary suffered Hers in Her soul.” …St. Alphonsus de Liguori. “Now, as the soul is more noble than the body, so much greater were Mary’s sufferings than those of all the martyrs, as Jesus Christ Himself said to St. Catherine of Siena: ‘Between the sufferings of the soul and those of the body there is no comparison.’”

“Jesus Christ Himself revealed to Blessed Veronica of Binasco, that, He is more pleased in seeing His Mother compassionated than Himself.” He said to her: ‘My daughter, tears shed for My Passion are dear to Me; but as I loved My Mother Mary with an immense love, the

meditation on the torments which She endured at My death is even more agreeable to Me.

We can see that this devotion dates back to the early church, as witnessed by St. John’s emphasis on Mary in His Gospel.  There are stories that John was visited by Mary often after her death and she encouraged him to remember her own sorrows along with Jesus’.  

The Feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated September 15th and the Friday before Palm Sunday.

In this devotion of the 7 Sorrows of Mary, we remember and honor the fact that she suffered along with her son, playing an active role in our Redemption.  

Graces and promises attached to the practice of the devotion in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sorrowing:

According to St. Alphonsus de Liguori (The Glories of Mary) it wasrevealed to Saint Elizabeth that at the request of Our Lady, Our Lord promised four principal graces to those devoted to Her Sorrows:

1. That those who before death invoke the divine Mother in thename of Her Sorrows will obtain true repentance of all their sins;

2. That He will protect all who have this devotion in their tribulations,and will protect them especially at the hour of death;

3. That He will impress on their minds the remembrance of HisPassion;

4. That He will place such devout servants in Mother Mary’s hands

to do with them as She wishes and to obtain for them all thegraces She desires.

In addition to these four graces there are also seven promises attached to the practice of daily praying seven Hail Mary’s while meditating onOur Lady’s Tears and Sorrows. These seven promises were revealed to St. Bridget of Sweden:

1. “I will grant peace to their families.”

2. “They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries.”

3. “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”

4. “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does notoppose the adorable will of My divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”

5. “I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.”

6. “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death — they will see the face of their Mother.”

7. “I have obtained this grace from My divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to My tears and sorrows will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and My Son will be their eternal consolation

and joy.”

The Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows (aka Little Rosary) is prayed very similarly to a rosary; You may pray one mystery a day or all mysteries in one day; Or you may pray One Hail Mary for every mystery.

Tobit 4:3-4 says, “Honor your mother and do not abandon her as long as she lives.  Do whatever pleases her...Remember, my son that she went through many trials for your sake…” Just as we all here would honor our earthly mothers, because of the life and sacrifices they gave FOR US; so we should honor our heavenly mother.  Mary is the mother of our souls.  Jesus himself gave her to us before his death on the Cross, ordering John to take her into his home; so we should take her as our own mother.  In this devotion, we honor her sufferings for our sake, we have compassion on her and we increase our love for her and for her son.  

If you have your Bible handy, read Luke 2:25-35, the account of the Presentation in the Temple.

Luke depicts Mary and Joseph as very faithful Jewish family; faithful observers of the Law of the Lord.”Their purification” refers to the legal impurity of a woman who has just given birth.  She is impure (unable to touch anything sacred or having to do with the Temple) for 40 days.  So her offering of turtledoves and pigeons is for her own purity’s sake (which is ironic b/c she is actually always pure, by way of her Immaculate Conception).  This is a very joyous occasion, presenting their Son in the Temple.  I liken it to the joy that we experience when we bring our own children to the Sacrament of Baptism.  They have just experienced the pure innocence of the infant Jesus for 40 days.  I remember those first few months with our firstborn.  So very special; every little move they make is magical!And just imagine this being the Son of God!

 

So here they are, proud parents, presenting their son to God in the Temple; excited to pass down the rich tradition of their faith to Him.  And here comes Simeon...affirming, yet again, like Elizabeth, like the shepherd and wise men, that this small infant is the Messiah, “the light to the Gentiles and the glory” of the people Israel.  But Simeon brings a new twist...Mary’s heart will be pierced by a sword as “this child” will be a sign that is contradicted.Sign that is contradicted: I think of Palm Sunday, when Jesus rides into Jerusalem to the proclamation “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord” then only to be handed over, put on trial and crucified the next week, mocked and condemned by the same people who hailed him as king.  

   

The temple was built on the spot that, tradition tells us, Mount Moriah was, where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son.  Here at this same spot Mother Mary comes to offer HER SON to the Father.Abraham’s son was spared, yet Mary’s son will not be spared. Mary KNOWS this, she is a good Jewish girl who knows the prophecies, yet she stands there quietly.  She doesn’t protest, she doesn’t ask Simeon to clarify what he was saying.  Her knowledge of the prophecies is most likely confirmed by Simeon. Isaiah is a major prophet in Israel and he prophesied of a Suffering Servant…(ch.53) “See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted...He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity...Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured...but he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we are healed…” She is ACCEPTING what Simeon is saying to her; she is accepting God’s will.  She is accepting her son’s future.  

 

She knows it is the Will of God that her Son must die for all people; for herself and for the freedom of many. In this moment, Mary is realizing the irony of the Cross, that it will “pierce her heart” with intense suffering, her beautiful, beloved son will suffer, yet their suffering will win freedom for all people; Ironic!  Mary’s love for Jesus is so pure, so intense; thus her suffering in watching him suffer was magnified as well.  Her love for Jesus is natural; like any of us who are mothers here love our children.  But her love for him is supernatural as well.  Jesus was her Son but He is also her God; Her Messiah.  And I truly do believe she knew all of this at this point; she knew He was the Messiah; HER messiah.  

 

Luke 2:19 says, “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.”This is my favorite Scripture verse because I believe it tells us so much about Mary.  So many things were happening in her life; big, monumental, history changing things were happening.  Yet, she keeps them all in her heart, accepting them with dignity and with a prayerful heart.

In Mass on Sunday evening, Fr. Emilio was speaking about the Transfiguration and how Peter, James, and John were present.  Fr. Emilio pointed out that these men were very special men to Jesus and to His plan of salvation, for Peter was the first Pope, John wrote the gospel and Revelation, and James was the first to be martyred among the Apostles.  Instantly, I thought of MY OWN James baby boy.  My thought was, “What if he is martyred” (in this day and age, I am not counting it out!).  I am not kidding you, my tired mommy mind started playing out this dramatic scene of watching him run around smiling, then to being martyred, tortured, killed for the faith.  I instantly almost started BALLING!  And my first gut reaction was, “No, Lord, no!”  I know if either of my babies, or hubby, ever has to experience suffering in their life, I know that I will question God, I will doubt him.  Even if just for a bit.  I will be hesitant to accept suffering. But what makes Mary so different here?  How can she stand tall and accept what Simeon is prophesying?  

 

I believe it is her purity; her Immaculate Conception makes her free from sin.  It is natural for her to accept God’s will because there is nothing in the way of blocking her soul from giving herself to Him at all times.  But I also believe that because of this purity, she experienced intense suffering.  Yes, she accepts what Simeon has to say to her, but her heart breaks. This instant happens when Jesus is one month old.  She now knows that his suffering could occur at any time. For I believe that Mary was able to accept God’s will - for it was His will that His Son be offered as a Sacrificial Lamb for our sins - but I don’t think she KNEW IN ADVANCE what His WILL was.  She didn’t know the timeline of events; she couldn’t see the future.  And I do have to put it out there this is my own opinion, the conclusion I’ve arrived at through prayer and contemplation.

 

“She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.”  She accepts God’s will as it is revealed to her throughout her life.  The moment it is clear what His will is, she accepts and fully participates in His will.  There is more significance to Christ’s death than His birth, and she now knows this, after Simeon’s prophecy.

 

So for 30 years, she experiences the irony of gazing upon the pure innocence of God, of getting to hear him, laugh with him, hug him, converse with him, serve him, yet “keeping these things in her heart” she suffers greatly, knowing what kind of destiny awaits her Son.  But, in the quiet, simple days, she says “yes” to the suffering.  She does not experience physical suffering, no, but probably something worse: emotional and spiritual suffering, as she can only imagine what her Son will one day experience.  She is so united with her Son, so intimately caught up in Him, that her burning love for Him is also a burning love for us.  That for 30 years, she unites her suffering to Her Father and she accepts it out of love FOR YOU AND ME, and she awaits the day when she will actively give herself and her Son for the sake of the world.  Amen.